<p>SpaceX today will attempt its first- ever cargo delivery to the astronauts living in orbit using a vessel that has already flown to space once before, the California-based company said.<br /><br />The launch of SpaceX's 11th commercial resupply mission aboard an unmanned Dragon cargo ship is scheduled for 5:55 pm (2155 GMT), and will be broadcast live on NASA's website.<br /><br />The gum-drop shaped Dragon spaceship has been refurbished, after previously toting food and supplies to the International Space Station in September 2014, and then splashing back down in the ocean intact.<br /><br />"The majority of this Dragon has been in space before," said Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of mission assurance.<br /><br />The heat shield, however, has been replaced, he told reporters at a pre-launch press conference on Wednesday.<br /><br />The re-use of an old spaceship is the latest move in SpaceX's long-running strategy to make space flight cheaper and more environmentally friendly.<br /><br />Its main effort has been in recycling rockets, by powering their first stage engines and guiding them back to Earth following launch.<br /><br />This saves the main portion of the rocket, and avoids jettisoning millions of dollars worth of equipment into the ocean after takeoff.<br /><br />About 10 minutes after Thursday's launch, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on solid ground back at Cape Canaveral.<br /><br />If all goes as planned, the cargo ship should arrive Sunday at 8:30 am (1230 GMT) at the space station, which circles the Earth at a height of some 250 miles (400 kilometers).<br /><br />The Dragon is packed with almost 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of science research, crew supplies and hardware.<br /><br />The supplies for special experiments include live mice to study the effects of osteoporosis and fruit flies for research on microgravity's impact on the heart.<br /><br />The spacecraft is also loaded with solar panels and equipment to study neutron stars.<br /><br />The weather forecast for Thursday's launch was 70 percent favorable, NASA said.<br /><br />If the launch is postponed for any reason, another opportunity opens at 5:07 pm (2107 GMT) on Saturday.<br /><br />The launch will be the 100th from NASA's historic launch pad 39A, the starting point for the Apollo missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as a total of 82 shuttle flights.</p>
<p>SpaceX today will attempt its first- ever cargo delivery to the astronauts living in orbit using a vessel that has already flown to space once before, the California-based company said.<br /><br />The launch of SpaceX's 11th commercial resupply mission aboard an unmanned Dragon cargo ship is scheduled for 5:55 pm (2155 GMT), and will be broadcast live on NASA's website.<br /><br />The gum-drop shaped Dragon spaceship has been refurbished, after previously toting food and supplies to the International Space Station in September 2014, and then splashing back down in the ocean intact.<br /><br />"The majority of this Dragon has been in space before," said Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of mission assurance.<br /><br />The heat shield, however, has been replaced, he told reporters at a pre-launch press conference on Wednesday.<br /><br />The re-use of an old spaceship is the latest move in SpaceX's long-running strategy to make space flight cheaper and more environmentally friendly.<br /><br />Its main effort has been in recycling rockets, by powering their first stage engines and guiding them back to Earth following launch.<br /><br />This saves the main portion of the rocket, and avoids jettisoning millions of dollars worth of equipment into the ocean after takeoff.<br /><br />About 10 minutes after Thursday's launch, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on solid ground back at Cape Canaveral.<br /><br />If all goes as planned, the cargo ship should arrive Sunday at 8:30 am (1230 GMT) at the space station, which circles the Earth at a height of some 250 miles (400 kilometers).<br /><br />The Dragon is packed with almost 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of science research, crew supplies and hardware.<br /><br />The supplies for special experiments include live mice to study the effects of osteoporosis and fruit flies for research on microgravity's impact on the heart.<br /><br />The spacecraft is also loaded with solar panels and equipment to study neutron stars.<br /><br />The weather forecast for Thursday's launch was 70 percent favorable, NASA said.<br /><br />If the launch is postponed for any reason, another opportunity opens at 5:07 pm (2107 GMT) on Saturday.<br /><br />The launch will be the 100th from NASA's historic launch pad 39A, the starting point for the Apollo missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as a total of 82 shuttle flights.</p>